It was his fault. He did it. He started it. He caused it. Growing up with two older brothers you heard one of these statements about every 1.21 nanoseconds. Fights, trouble, and broken articles laid in our wake as we fought our way through adolescence. And as objects did get broken, blame had to be determined. You know, speaking of, I think there is one thing that even today, every single American could get behind. Blame. We all want to know who caused the problem, who is guilty, who did the bad, and whose fault it was. Why? Well if we can place blame appropriately, then we can punish. And folks, no matter what race, religion, sex, demographic or income level, this is something all people today embrace passionately. We love to punish the guilty.
But what if something happens in your life and it is hard to place the blame? What if your car gets backed into in a parking lot with nobody around? What if you get a bad health report and you have to have major surgery? What if a fire breaks out and destroys your home? What if you suddenly lose a loved one to a disease or heart attack? There are a plethora of problems in life that will make it very difficult for you to place the blame. Who did it? Who caused it? Who do I get angry at? Who do I seek to punish for this? As many find themselves in this conundrum, their dire need to place blame drives them to the only place they can go…they blame God.
Certainly, God causes all things to happen in our lives, good and bad. Of course, as you analyze good and bad in your life you have to analyze what good and bad actually mean. I challenge the fact that we can ever truly determine what is good and bad in our own lives. Yes, there are things that happen in our lives that we don’t like, care for, or want, but that doesn’t make them bad and eligible for blame and punishment. But alas, if we do deem them “bad” and there’s nobody else to blame, God is an easy target. When life fails to meet your expectations and you can blame no one else for your disappointment, you can always blame God.
In chapter 6 of 1 Samuel today, we see that the Philistines have held onto the ark of God for 7 months after taking it from the Israelites in battle. And in those 7 months, things have happened. Tumors have inflicted the people, rodents have plagued the land and as a result, death has ensued. The Philistines of Ashdod did their best to find the cause. This has never happened before, what has changed? They dump the ark on another city, Gath, and the same thing happens. They drag it to another city, Ekron, the same thing. In a dose of deductive reasoning, they determine the cause of the bad is indeed God. They think. And folks, when we think God might be causing bad in our lives, we see the Philistines do exactly what so many in this world do today, they get rid of God.
They hitch up two milk cows that have never been yoked to pull a wagon that will hold the Ark. The cows are recent mothers and their young calves are bellowing desperately in their absence. Those two cows should never pull a cart as they’ve never been trained to do so, they should shirk the yoke. And also, if they did pull, they should instinctually go straight to their crying calves. You see, the Philistines figured if the cows pulled the wagon straight out of town toward the promised land, then God was in the details. And that’s exactly what happened. As that cart rolled out of town, I bet the Philistines had never been happier. They got rid of the tumors. They got rid of the rats. They got rid of the death. They got rid of the heartache. They got rid of unnecessary death. They got rid of the problems of life. And why? Well, because they got rid of the root of the problem, they got rid of God.
As the Ark of God arrives back into the promised land, just the opposite reception occurred, there was a great welcoming. God had come back to the Israelites. Levite priests remove the ark, as they were the only people that could touch the poles of the ark, and then they burn the entire wagon and both cows as an offering to the Lord. But in the process, they forgot to cover the ark and 70 people that look upon it are struck dead. Oh no, bad happened. People lose loved ones, get angry, look to place blame, and the process starts all over. Why did this happen? Who did wrong? Who is to blame for my pain? I need retribution. I need justice. The blame is placed on God and guess what? Yep, God’s own people decide to get rid of God. They ship the ark off to the city of Kiriath-Jearim.
Have you gotten rid of God? Have you sent Him away? Has something bad happened in your life and you have placed the blame squarely upon the shoulders of God? Death, loss, or divorce? Addiction, disappointment, or heartbreak? Disease, health problems or surgery? Yes, God is the author of all life and yes, God does cause and allow all to take place in this world. But folks, God does not aimlessly punish. God does not recklessly cause bad in our lives because He wants to see us suffer and reel in pain. God is a God of love and allows all events to occur in our lives, not to drive us farther from Him, but to do just the opposite, draw us closer to Him. We will not understand or comprehend all that happens in this life, we were never meant to. Our thoughts are not those of God and as we try to draw ourselves up to His level of awareness and discernment, we will ultimately be disappointed. And in our disappointment, we will seek to place blame.
If you have gotten rid of God today because of bad circumstances in your life, know a few things. God is on your side, not against you. God made you, knows you and loves you more than you could ever imagine. Don’t see God as an enemy but as an ally. He would never allow anything to happen to you that could not somehow, in the future, work out for your greater good. Second, trust that God works good in ways that you just cannot and will not ever understand. God is God and you are not. You see, we were never meant to think and understand like God. In fact, I don’t want a God that thinks like me. I am flawed, illogical, limited in intellect and a sinner by nature. I want a God that is perfect, limitless in His intellect and sees the future of all. God sees your life like this and guides you in His perfect love and perfect timing.
My prayer for you today is that if you have gotten rid of God, you would go back to Him. The bad, the hurt, the pain, they will not stop just because you have sent God away, the world will make sure of that. What you thought God caused, only He can make better. You see, death, pain, disease, and catastrophe still happened to the Philistines, the fact that they sent God away only made it worse. Don’t make it worse today, draw near to God and let His love replenish your life.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
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